711th Human Performance Wing, Airman Systems Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, OH 45433, USA.
Sensors (Basel). 2017 Mar 25;17(4):681. doi: 10.3390/s17040681.
Neurotransmitters detection is critical to understanding communication between the brain and peripheral tissue. Serotonin is a key neurotransmitter linked to a number of conditions, but a full understanding of its role in disease is still lacking. The development of fast and selective serotonin detection platforms will provide researchers with tools to monitor serotonin in individuals before and after treatment for the condition of interest. Aptamer-gold nanoparticles conjugates that responded colorimetrically to serotonin with minimal response to its metabolite and other neurotransmitters were designed by simply adsorbing the DNA on the surface of AuNPs. A plasmonic assay for serotonin detection was designed with a response to biologically relevant serotonin levels. Importantly, the assay performance was not compromised when tested in filtered spiked fetal bovine serum as a mimic of biofluids. This work shows that these simple and stable Apt-AuNP conjugates are promising tools to develop fast assays for point-of-care and personalized diagnostics applications.
神经递质的检测对于理解大脑和外周组织之间的通讯至关重要。血清素是一种与多种疾病相关的关键神经递质，但人们对其在疾病中的作用仍了解甚少。快速且选择性的血清素检测平台的发展将为研究人员提供工具，以便在感兴趣的疾病的治疗前后监测个体中的血清素。通过简单地将 DNA 吸附在 AuNPs 表面，设计了对血清素产生比色响应且对其代谢物和其他神经递质的响应最小的适体-金纳米粒子缀合物。设计了一种等离子体测定法用于检测具有生物相关性的血清素水平。重要的是，当在过滤的胎牛血清中进行测试以模拟生物体液时，该测定法的性能不会受到影响。这项工作表明，这些简单且稳定的 Apt-AuNP 缀合物是开发用于即时护理和个性化诊断应用的快速检测方法的有前途的工具。
